Participatory development of Cultural Center Universul

Danish Culture Institute engages the IRMO’s experts to provide the Ministry of Culture in the Republic of Moldova with a Model for implementing the Cultural Center Universul that is based on a participatory approach where relevant stakeholders have been actively involved in the different steps including decision making.
In Phase 1 (June 1st, 2025 – August 31st, 2025), the Expert will develop a detailed project proposal and process plan that outlines how to implement the whole project in Phase 2 (September 1st, 2025—November 20th, 2026). This includes identifying the necessary research activities, methodological approaches, timelines, and concrete implementation steps for each model element described below – including involvement of the target groups, ensuring that Phase 2 can be executed in a structured, participatory, and context-sensitive manner.

The project proposal to be developed in Phase 1 will outline the approach, structure, and necessary steps for the following components to be identified through a participatory process in Phase 2:

• Mapping social, cultural, and economic aspects relevant for local development based on available data and positioning within the European context
• A model for governance
• A model for cultural programming
• A beneficiary and stakeholder definition
• Regulations for usage of spaces including user- and space typology (commercial and non-commercial), rights and obligations of the different categories, and conditions and criteria for space and resource usage.+
• A suggestion for audience profiling
• A suggestion for a financial sustainability plan
• Facilitate a participatory process to define the functional distribution and use of spaces in the Cultural Center Universul, resulting in a documented plan to inform the architectural design phase.